‘Die Hardest’ Writer Shares Some Screenplay Details!

After the truly woeful A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD, most us fans of Bruce Willis’ John McClane walked out of the cinemas effectively saying “It’d be a good day if the franchise just died!” However, enough of us idiots coughed up plenty of dough to assure Willis would return (despite Brucey not seeming like he gives a f**k anymore).

Fan of the action series and screenwriter Ben Trebilcook is currently penning the sixth instalment, thought to be titled DIE HARDEST and in a recent interview he’s spilled some promising secrets about the plot. One that he’s assured will get back-to-basics with McClane no longer a gravity-defying superhero, but back to his familiar unlucky detective mode, who always seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time:

“Hmm, what can I say? What can I say? What am I allowed to say? OK, without spoiling too much, I can say that McClane is invited to Tokyo by the Nakatomi Corporation to be commended for his bravery and efforts in saving 36 lives, celebrating this on the 30th anniversary of the Naktatomi Hostage Crisis. It’s by no means BLACK RAIN. Perhaps has a slight RISING SUN type tone. It’s also not a double-act buddy-buddy story. McClane began on his own and should end on his own. Of course he’s had assistance in various guises, aiding him in his ventures; but it’s not Lethal Weapon or a Jackie Chan film.”

“As a fan? A well known Hollywood director pal of mine is a massive Die Hard fan. Huge. He read it and adored it. Having him alone read it and say he liked it was good enough, but saying it ticked so many fan-boxes for him and made him smile and was a keen page-turner, well, if the script doesn’t go anywhere, his comments were winter fuel on these cold, dark, London nights. For me, as a fan, familiarity. I’d be saying ‘Yes!’ throughout particular scenes and smiling fondly with certain lines of dialogue. Some insane action. I’ve tied a lot of things together.”

Craig was our great north east correspondent, proving that it’s so ‘grim up north’ that losing yourself in a world of film is a foregone prerequisite. He has been studying the best (and often worst) of both classic and modern cinema at the University of Life for as long as he can remember. Craig’s favorite films include THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, JFK, GOODFELLAS, SCARFACE, and most of John Carpenter’s early work, particularly THE THING and HALLOWEEN.